


Being Human

by leleland (thetomorrowafterthat)



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: AU, Alternate Universe - Supernatural Elements, Angst, Blood Drinking, Drinking, Fantasy, Ghosts, M/M, Supernatural Elements, Vampires, Werewolves, alcohol mention, blood mention, but like angst with purpose, everyone is aged up except for jisung and chenle, future nurse renjun, history buff comrade hyuck, history buff jaemin, ill update the tags as i go so i dont spoil anything too much, it has some fluff moments because it cant all be sad, its going somewhere i swear, murder mention, nurse winwin, nurse yuta, social worker jeno
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-21
Updated: 2019-05-17
Packaged: 2019-06-30 13:11:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 15,908
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15752358
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thetomorrowafterthat/pseuds/leleland
Summary: A little bit of bite, some "'til death do us" part action, and a couple of full moon rendezvous.The story of 3 boys in love just trying to make it over a few supernatural bumps in the road.





	1. Prologue: Blue

“Don’t throw that away! You have to save it!” Jeno yelled, snatching the movie ticket from Renjun’s hand.

“Jeno, it’s literally just a movie ticket. Why would I keep it?” 

“For sentimental reasons! Don’t you want to remember how March 18th, 2020 is the day I took you to see a movie and bought you popcorn? This is definitely one for the books.”

“Ok but what if Jaemin sees the ticket? He will be so pissed we saw the new Avatar movie without him,” Renjun gasps dramatically, “Especially when he realizes it was also discount popcorn day.” 

Jeno shakes his head and laughs at the shorter boy, “He and Donghyuck are at a study session for one of their history midterms. Just put the ticket somewhere safe and he will never know! Simple!”

Renjun just rolls his eyes at Jeno, who is wiggling his eyebrows at him like a dumbass, and begrudgingly shoves the ticket in his wallet. The two boys hop in the car, immediately making eye contact before they race to grab the aux cord. After a few minutes of driving and jamming to throwback pop songs, Renjun’s choosing of the day, they finally arrive back at their dorm. “Hey, do you think Donghyuck cleaned up his mess from trying to cook this morning on no sleep?” 

“Jeno it has only been a few hours; do you really think he would clean anything if he hasn’t been asked multiple times over a course of many days- “

“SURPRISE!!!” Renjun jumps, cut off from his sentence by all the people shouting as he opens his front door. He glances over the room, a bit stunned at seeing all of his friends in his little living room. The boy had celebrated his birthday all alone the previous year considering his family lived overseas and he was too closed off and had yet to make any friends by the time the special day rolled around.

“Guys,” Renjun pulls out a teasing tone as an attempt to mask his emotions, “it isn’t even my birthday yet.”

“But you wouldn’t be as surprised if we did it on your actual birthday!”

“You got me there, Hyuck,” Renjun chuckles, suddenly being overwhelmed with hugs. The other boys pass him around, giving him tight squeezes and telling him happy birthday. The small crowd suddenly start chanting, demanding the birthday boy open presents.

“You guys really shouldn’t have gotten me anything, this party is more than enough.” 

“Ok but you deserve it.” Sicheng states bluntly, shoving a box into Renjun’s arms. “This is from me and Yuta.”

Renjun opens the box and immediately gasps, “Wait these are so cute I really don’t know what to say.” He pulls out the new pair of scrubs and shows them to the rest of his friends, they all awed at the pretty stitched monogramming of Renjun’s name. “I am so nervous to go into the medical field. You two know that,” Renjun nodded at Sicheng and Yuta, “I just want to do my best even though I feel like my best isn’t good enough sometimes. But seeing you two about to start working towards your masters is so inspiring. You’re both my role models and a gift like this really means a lot to me. Thank you.”

“Johnny, are you crying?” Mark questions loudly. 

Johnny wipes at his eyes, trying to hide his tears, “Mark Seo-Lee you know I have allergies. Shut up or I will tell mom to stop paying your phone bill.”

As everyone teases the older boy, Yuta and Sicheng give Renjun a big hug. “You’ve got this. You’re one of the smartest people I have ever met.” Yuta says encouragingly, patting Renjun’s head.

“Anyways! I guess I will just tell you what my present is.” Kun butts in. “So, I made you your favorite hotpot. It’s in your kitchen for whenever you want to eat it.”

Renjun jumps up from his spot and basically tackles Kun into a hug, “YOU are the most amazing person in the world thank you so much you absolute GOD!”

Yuta leans over and whispers, “Ok so like I’m glad we got that sentimental speech and I’m pretty satisfied but like. Why couldn’t we have been the most amazing people in the world?” Sicheng just pushes his boyfriend off the couch.

After more gift exchanges, Mark giving Renjun a Moomin money box while Johnny gave him a new pair of headphones, Jaemin walks out of the kitchen with the cake he made, singing happy birthday. As all the others join in with the singing, Renjun’s smile grew larger. Donghyuck threw in a few adlibs Mark joined in by beatboxing. The birthday boy looked around at all his friends, he hadn’t felt this much love in a long time and the only thing he could think to wish for was to keep all of these people by his side for the rest of his life. Right as he blew out the candles, Jeno ran his finger through the icing of cake and wiped it on Renjun’s cheek, with Jaemin following suit. 

“Hey Renjun, I think you got a little something on your face there.” Kun snickers, grabbing the cake to cut it into pieces. He still didn’t trust Jaemin with a knife ever since they were trying to cut veggies and Jaemin almost stabbed Donghyuck when he said his tomato slices were too thick.

“We got it!” Jeno and Jaemin say in unison right before they plant their lips on Renjun’s cheeks in a kiss and then licking the icing off.

“I AM GOING TO KILL YOU BOTH IN YOUR SLEEP!” Renjun yells as he jumps up from his seat, wiping his cheeks with both hands. The boys just giggled in their seats, being the only ones even paying attention to Renjun’s distress once the cake was cut.

The night moved forward just like all the other nights when the group of friends got together. They slowly trickled out of the dorm room to go do some late-night studying or migrate to another boy’s place for a video game session. Everyone made sure to give the birthday boy one last hug before they left for the night, Donghyuck even gave him a big sloppy wet kiss on the forehead, “I’m staying over at Mark’s place, don’t wait up kids!”

“We wouldn’t even if you asked us to!” Jaemin responds with a wink, making Hyuck laugh and flip him off as he shut the door behind him. 

“That was disgusting. I better add him to the ‘People I Need to Kill in Their Sleep’ list.” Renjun whines, rubbing the slobber from his forehead.

“Injunnie, if you kill all 3 of us in our sleep then who is gonna tolerate your ass as a roommate?” Jaemin sniggered as he plopped onto the couch. Renjun just glared before sitting beside the boy and pulling Jeno down to sit with him as well. The three boys settled into a comfortable silence with one another. Jaemin was scrolling through his phone while Renjun and Jeno were mindlessly watching whatever movie was playing on the screen in front of them. None of them had even figured out the plot of the movie by the time the credits were rolling. 

Abruptly, Renjun was pulled out of his trance by Jeno violently standing up and causing the smaller boy to go face first into the couch, “Sorry Injun! I just remembered we didn’t give you your present!”

Renjun just rubbed his nose before responding with an assertive, “You guys aren’t allowed to get me presents when you threw me a whole party.”

Jaemin was the one to speak up as Jeno just ran towards his room, “It’s ok we didn’t really have to spend almost any money on it. Plus, it’s kind of for all of us?” Well. That definitely sparked Renjun’s interest a bit. A second later a slightly frazzled Jeno comes walking out of his room with a small wrapped present. He excitedly shoves it into Renjun’s hands before sitting back down next to him. Both of the other boys were now staring at Renjun expectantly and you really couldn’t blame him if he happened to blush ever so lightly. He took a breath before ripping the shiny paper open, revealing a pretty frame. Renjun stopped and smiled when he saw the photo that was encased by said pretty frame.

“It’s a picture frame of one of the first photos of us three together. We can hang it up when we finally have a real home together,” Jeno whispers as he watches Renjun stare at the photo in awe. Suddenly Renjun just lets out a loud sob, catching the other two boys off guard.

“You two are the most amazing people I could ever have in my life. I- I don’t know how I managed to get this lucky,” Renjun just continues to let out his tears, sniffling every so often. Jeno and Jaemin were his people. They said they wanted to hang it up when they finally got a real home together but if Renjun was being honest, as long as he was with the other two, he would always feel at home. They were the reason he had actually decided to stay for the rest of college instead of going back home after his freshman year. It was always them making him laugh so hard that banana milk comes out of his nose. It was always them that made sure he had enough to eat. It was always them that cheered him on before every test. It was always them. So that’s why when he finally looks up from the photo and at the boys who were already looking back at him, both with equally worried faces, he decides to do what he has always been too scared to do. Renjun quickly places a kiss on both boys’ cheeks. 

“Sorry, I just- you’re my people- I don’t know-“ Renjun’s rambling is cut off by Jaemin gently grabbing his chin and kissing him softly on the lips before pulling away and reaching across to do the same to Jeno. It’s at that moment, of course, that Mark walks in.

“Hyuck said he wanted me to grab his- Oh. Finally! Anyways, sorry. I’m just gonna, uh,” Mark points towards Donghyuck’s room before briskly walking towards the room and disappearing only to reemerge with a singular shoe, “Have a great rest of the night!”

As the door slams shut behind the older boy, it’s silent for a just a moment before the three boys burst into laughter. “How much shit do you think Hyuck is gonna give him for bringing back a singular shoe instead of whatever he actually asked for?” Jaemin chortles.

“He will never let him live it down,” Renjun said in-between wheezes, Jeno nodding in agreement as he held his stomach from laughing so hard.

When they all finally settled down, the room was suddenly filled with the sound of Renjun’s stomach grumbling. His face was suddenly filled with glee as he remembered his present from Kun, “It’s hotpot time!” he shouts, jumping up and sprinting into the kitchen. The other two stared after him adoringly before looking at one another.

“Hotpot?”

“Hotpot.”

The night came to a close with the three boys scattered around the kitchen with empty dirty bowls next to each of them. Renjun was perched on the counter, Jaemin sat on the stool, and Jeno sprawled across the floor. Each of them feeling content with how the night had went. “We have to cuddle tonight,” Jaemin stated.

Renjun thought for a moment, not because he didn’t want to cuddle, but because he sure did like to tease his boyfriend, “Ok, but you have to wash the dishes.” 

The younger boy sighed dramatically, “As if I wouldn’t be the one doing them anyways,” he gently kicked the lump on the floor, “Come on Jeno, you have to dry.”

The eldest boy giggled to himself as he walked out of the kitchen. He was much too fond of the other two. Renjun grabs his gifts off the coffee table to lug back to his room and put away. He already has the perfect spot on his desk for that Moomin money bank. After hanging up his scrubs he hears the other two yelling at him to come join them. “I know you miss me already but you’re gonna have to wait a second!” he calls back, laughing softly. Renjun grabs the picture frame off of his bed and as he goes to prop it up on his dresser he notices something on the back.

“Love never dies,” he whispers to himself, running his finger across the pretty blue writing on the back of the frame. He takes a deep breath before letting a huge smile breakout across his face. The frame now takes its space on his dresser with his movie ticket from that day sitting next to it.

After changing out of his jeans and into some pajamas, he glances one last time at the picture frame before yelling out towards the others, “Hey guys I think we should paint our living room blue once we buy a house.”


	2. I Don't like the Cold

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi guys! this is the first "official" chapter! it's probably the longest one I will write for this fic tbh. it is just over 4k words! it takes place just shy of 3 years after the prologue. its basically in jaemins pov. i really hope you guys enjoy it! please leave comments! it really helps me out a lot!! whether its compliments or criticisms!

It was, Jaemin glanced at his phone for the 27th time in the last hour, almost 3am, aka the end of his shift. He had just enough time to get home and get about 4 hours of sleep before he had to get up and make his big Valentine’s Day breakfast that he made every year since he, Renjun, and Jeno began dating. The only people left in the bar besides himself were the two drunk girls sitting at the bar, Donghyuck, and the owner of Hot & Young, who was always in the back, probably asleep. By the time his phone buzzed, signifying it was finally time for his shift to end, he had gotten highly invested in the girls’ conversation. Apparently, they both had the same boyfriend and he had fucked up and sent their Valentines plans to both of them instead of individually? It was a whole mess, but now here they are bonding and getting drunk together, so, Jaemin thinks, it at least had one positive outcome. 

He clocked out and grabbed his scarf to head home, popping his head into the kitchen to bid Donghyuck a goodnight. The boy just gave him a weak wave as he continued washing dishes. He looked so miserable it almost made Jaemin feel a bit bad, but that’s why Donghyuck should’ve never bet against him! He should’ve known he was going to lose against Jaemin at Mario Kart, but the older boy hated losing and, sadly, loved bets. So now he was stuck with dish duty for a week at work.

Jaemin walked out the side door of the bar, wrapping his scarf around his neck to protect it from the bitter February cold. He heard the door behind him up open up harshly and, before he could even turn around to see who it was, he was unceremoniously thrown against the side of the building. His head hit the brick and he fell to the ground, the impact making his vision go blurry. As everything started to focus, all he could see was Sooman, his boss, standing in front of him. But it wasn’t normal Sooman? His eyes were completely black and his mouth was bared to show a pair of fangs. 

“You have been a wonderful addition to the staff Jaemin, I hope you stay with us for many years to come,” Sooman says to him. Before he could even process what that was supposed to imply, the man rips away his scarf and sinks his fangs deep into Jaemin’s neck. Despite the terrible pain and confusion, one of the only things coming to Jaemin’s brain is how Renjun had knitted him that scarf and now it was ruined. 

As Sooman pulled away, there was blood dripping down his chin but the man didn’t seem to mind. He just reached into his pocket and grabbed a fancy looking knife then proceeded to make a decent sized cut on his arm. Once he seemed satisfied, he shoved his wrist into Jaemin’s mouth. Being too weak from the bite to even do anything, Jaemin just sat there and swallowed, hoping for everything to end quickly so that he could get home. He was scared, he would admit that. He really didn’t know what was happening. All he wanted was to be with his boyfriends under a blanket, with them holding him and keeping him safe. But at this moment that just wasn’t what was happening. 

Jaemin broke out of his thoughts as Sooman pulled his arm away and patted him gently on the head. He flinched at the touch but the older man just chuckled. “Oh yeah, you can have Saturday off by the way, Donghyuck said he needs extra hours,” Sooman told him as if they were just casually running into each other and Sooman wasn’t attacking him in an alleyway. Sooman calmly wiped the blood off the knife before immediately plunging it into Jaemin’s stomach multiple times. Jaemin yelled out, but it was weak. His vision flashed multiple different colors before settling on black. All he could see was black. 

Almost as if he was going down a slide, he was spun out of the darkness and back into the alleyway, completely disoriented. Sooman was nowhere in sight, but what Jaemin did see was almost worse, in a way. He saw his own dead body still propped up against the brick wall, covered in blood. Jaemin didn’t know how long he was just staring at his own body before Donghyuck walked out of the building, slumped over and headphones already in his ears. When the older boy finally glanced up from the ground he looked confused, “Jaem, I thought you went home- “ as Donghyuck got closer he saw all of the blood and immediately rushed to the side of the lifeless body, “FUCK! JAEMIN!” Jaemin watched on as he saw his best friend pull his body against his chest and whisper encouraging words like “everything is going to be ok” as tears poured down his cheeks. Donghyuck wiped his nose and pulled out his phone to make a call, to who Jaemin assumes is the police. 

“Mark. Sooman killed Jaemin. Yes, in the alley. Thank you. I will. I love you,” Donghyuck hangs up the phone and continues holding Jaemin. He might be dead but Jaemin’s mind is running a mile a minute. Why the fuck did Hyuck call Mark? How did he know it was Sooman? What was happening? Why can he even see what was happening?

While Jaemin paces around, thinking of all the different possibilities of what the fuck could be happening, Mark’s car pulls up to the curb and the older boy jumps out and runs to his boyfriend. He immediately crouches down to pull Donghyuck into a hug. They both stand and cradle Jaemin’s body in their arms, carrying him to Mark’s car and gently lay him in the back seat. As they close the doors and get in the car and begin driving, Jaemin’s soul, or ghost? He isn’t sure what he is right now. But he is suddenly poofed into the backseat of the car where his body was. Convenient, I guess.

“I tried to get him to quit. I knew what would happen if he started working there but he wouldn’t listen to me. I begged Sooman to leave him alone, to find someone else,” Donghyuck cried out.

Mark reached over put a hand on his boyfriend’s thigh, “I know, Hyuck. You did everything you could.”

“Well it wasn’t enough,” he bit out. He looked defeated, unlike the usual determined Hyuck who thought he could do anything. Jaemin didn’t like seeing his best friend like this, especially when he was the cause of it all. He had just wanted extra money to make sure Renjun didn’t have to work to help pay rent because he was so busy with his nursing classes. Why couldn’t he have just found a different job? Actually listened to his best friend when he said the boss was a literal nightmare? 

Once they arrive at the couple’s shared home, they carried Jaemin’s body into the house. Mark goes to the bathroom and fills up the tub with warm water, as per Donghyuck’s instruction, while Hyuck himself strips Jaemin of all of his clothes. When Mark comes back from the bathroom, the two once again lift the lifeless body of their friend and carry him into the bathroom, placing him tenderly in the tub.

“Mark, can you go warm up some blood, please? He should be up soon.” Ok now Jaemin was certain of everything he had been thinking. He was definitely becoming a vampire, that part is obvious. Was he freaking out because vampires were real? Yes. Was he almost positive one of those girls at the bar slipped something into his coke? It’s an idea. The only thing that was confusing him was how the fuck did his best friends know about vampires and why do they have blood? The only plausible reasons he could think of were that his friends ran a vampire refuge center, or they too were also vampires. 

Once again, the flashing colors were back, but instead of settling on black they whisked past it and straight into more colors, ending with him sliding back into his body. Jaemin retched forward, gasping for air he didn’t even need. Donghyuck immediately stood up from the side of tub and held Jaemin down by his shoulders as he struggled to get out of the tub. At that moment, Mark comes running into the room with two bags of blood, handing them both to Hyuck. Jaemin’s thoughts were racing and he couldn’t focus on anything that was happening. His senses were extremely heightened and it was violently overwhelming. Donghyuck suddenly shoved one of the bags of blood into Jaemin’s mouth and he hyper focused on it. His senses were filled with blood and only blood. It felt right. It tasted good. He never wanted it to end. 

By the time Jaemin had gulped down the whole bag, he had calmed down significantly. Donghyuck was no longer holding him down and was instead washing his hair for him, gently massaging the shampoo into his scalp. Jaemin sunk deeper into the water. He was cold. He hated being cold. 

“Here,” Donghyuck nudged his shoulder, passing Jaemin the other bag of blood, “I know you’re probably still hungry.” He was. He wanted the blood, but he didn’t want the blood. Jaemin was terrified. How would he explain this to Jeno and Renjun? He didn’t even fully know how to explain it to himself. Donghyuck abruptly stopped washing the younger boy’s hair and grabbed him and pulled him into a hug instead.

“Fuck! Jaemin I am so sorry I let this happen to you,” Hyuck cried into Jaemin’s neck, which was completely healed other than two little bitty scars to pinpoint where Sooman had sank his fangs. 

“Hyuckie,” Jaemin cooed, “I love you. This isn’t your fault. I should have listened to you! Instead of blaming yourself, maybe you could just like, I don’t know, help me out by explaining what the heck is going on? In full! Don’t leave out any details!” Donghyuck just pulled back and smiled at his best friend, fat tears running down his cheeks.

“Well,” he coughed, “you’re a vampire- “

“I already put that part together when I was dead, Hyuck.”

“Well I’m a vampire- “

“Tell me something I don’t know!”

“Na Jaemin if you don’t shut up and let me talk I’m not telling you anything!”

“Ok, ok I’m done. I love you. Mwah, continue.”

Donghyuck rolled his eyes. His best friend was the worst even when he was dead, “As I was saying before I was rudely interrupted. Twice. Mark and I are both vampires as well. I was turned at the end of sophomore year, a few months after I had started working at Hot & Young. I immediately told Mark what had happened and he believed me? Which I found odd but like. It’s Mark. He’s an odd guy.”

“I heard that, Hyuck! I am NOT odd!!” Mark yelled from the living room.

“Oh. Yeah, uh since we’re vampires we have enhanced hearing, so that’s a thing.”

Jaemin chuckled at his friends. Stuff like this made it seem like everything was normal. Almost. He piped up, getting even more curious, “Ok but how did Mark get turned?” Donghyuck froze at that.

“I- I turned him,” Hyuck choked out, face scrunching up as if he was in pain. “When I turned, he said that he could never live without me, that he wanted to be with me forever. Romantic, right?” Donghyuck scoffed at himself before continuing, “It took months of him begging me to turn him before I finally gave in. Do you remember that two weeks over winter break during junior year when I basically fell off the face of the earth and didn’t contact anyone?” Jaemin nodded. “Well after I turned Mark I felt extremely guilty about it. I hated myself. Sometimes I still do, but that dumb boy is pretty good at convincing me that he is happy this way. Living this life. He said he would choose me over a normal life any day.”

Jaemin smiled at the boy in front of him. He understood him completely. Mark and Donghyuck were Those Bitches that were just meant to be together no matter what. Jaemin knew Mark wasn’t lying when he said he didn’t regret his decision of becoming immortal. Those two really would do anything for each other. “Speaking of our boyfriends,” Jaemin spoke up, slightly panicked, “what time is it? Jeno and Renjun are gonna be wondering where the fuck I am.”

Donghyuck just patted his arm, “Calm down, lover boy. I texted them while you were still, uh, dead and told them that you got super sick at work and were just gonna lock yourself in our guest room until you were feeling better so that they could still enjoy Valentine’s Day and also so they wouldn’t get sick. We can’t have our little Renjunnie missing classes or Jeno missing a case.” 

“Hyuck, have I ever told you that you’re my best friend?”

“Not enough,” the older boy broke out into a big smile, “so tell me again.”

Jaemin flicked his forehead, “You’re my best friend.”

After some bickering between the two, Donghyuck went and got Jaemin a towel and a change of clothes. Once he left Jaemin alone in the bathroom to dry off and get dressed, Jaemin just stared at himself in the mirror. He looked a bit pale if he did say so himself. His skin was naturally tan though so he was only a bit less dark than usual. His eyes looked normal. I wonder how I get them to turn all black, he thought to himself. He then opened his mouth wide, checking out his teeth. They also look a bit normal- Oh. After he bared them, little fangs popped out. 

He quickly got dressed and then made his way into the living room where the other two boys were. “Hey uh,” he started out awkwardly, “how do I make these, uh, leave?”

Donghyuck and Mark just looked at each other before bursting out into laughter. “Yeah laugh it up, dumbasses,” Jaemin spit out, which just caused the older two to laugh harder at the lisp Jaemin had from awkwardly talking around the fangs.

Once they calmed down from their laugh attack, Mark explain how you kind of just have to slurp them back in? Breathe them back in almost. It was safe to say that Jaemin was very confused until Mark demonstrated it for him, then it only took him a few tries to get it. Ok, maybe this whole vampire thing won’t be too hard.

The three of them settle onto the couch, each with a mug full of warm blood. Jaemin was shooting off question after question, wanting to make sure he knew all of the basics.

“So how do I get my eyes to turn full black?”

“It only happens when you slightly lose control or just become extremely blood lusty. Also, for vampires like Sooman, they can do it at will. They have fully embraced the dead side of being a vampire. They’ve let go of most of their human morals.”

“Why do I feel so cold?”

“Because you're freshly dead. You still have blood, but it's cold. You get used to the cold eventually, plus you can drink warm blood and it warms you up a bit, kind of like a hotpack.”

“Do we have any other powers besides enhanced hearing?”

“Well, you can run fast, but we don’t tend to use that except in emergencies. I use it when I leave work sometimes if I have a late shift, though. I like to pollute the air with a car as least as possible. We also have perfect vision so that’s cool.”

“Do we need to sleep?”

“We don’t have to, but we can! It almost doesn’t feel as if we sleep, but time passes and we aren’t aware of it so technically we can conk out if we want to.”

“Any other tips you want to give me?”

“Make sure you brush your teeth a lot. It helps to cover the smell of blood. Also makes your fangs prettier. Blush is a must if you’re going somewhere. Practice breathing and eating so you can still go out places. We can actually get down most meats, even if they’re cooked, but other stuff can make us really sick so be careful.”

“I’m really lucky to have you guys.”

Jaemin lays himself across the other two boys, making himself comfortable. He practices breathing as they watch a random movie together. Across the coffee table he hears something vibrate. It’s his phone. He swiftly reaches out to grab it, immediately scrolling through all the messages in the group chat that contained himself and his boyfriends. It was a bunch of “I miss you” and “I miss him more” texts that made Jaemin smile. There were also a few photos of burnt pancakes (and more messages where Renjun made sure Jaemin knew it was Jeno’s fault). Jaemin quickly snapped a photo of himself smiling and sent it into the chat, accompanied by a text saying he loved and missed them both with a series of different heart emojis.

After 3 days of practicing different things with Donghyuck and Mark, Jaemin finally decided he was ready to go home and face his boyfriends. He had been texting them nonstop, denying them whenever they insisted they could take care of him and didn’t care if they got sick. Jaemin really loved them. The topic of how he was going to have to watch them grow old without him is one he was fervently trying to keep out of his mind as he walked towards his home. 

Before he could even get his key in the lock, the door jerked opened and Jaemin was tackled by two boys. He held them close, breathing in the familiar scent of the people he loved the most. It smelled slightly off though, like it was mixed with something- 

Jaemin froze as the realization hit him. He could smell their blood. It didn’t affect him almost at all considering Hyuck had made sure he was well fed before he left. It just sort of made him uncomfortable. 

Jaemin pulled the other two inside as they clung onto him. He somehow managed to shut the big blue door leading into their home and then continued dragging them to the living room before letting them all fall onto the couch together. They both scrambled to get comfy and attach themselves back onto either side of Jaemin. 

“I missed you,” Jeno said as he ruffled Jaemin’s hair.

“I also missed you,” Renjun piped in, pinching Jaemin’s arm.

Jaemin just giggled at the two, “I missed you guys too. It’s nice to know you can’t live without me around.”

Jeno gasped, “Hey! We lived didn’t we!” 

“You lived, but those poor pancakes sure didn’t,” Jaemin teased.

“Ok listen,” Renjun started, “we woke up late because you weren’t there to wake us up with breakfast like you usually were. We both panicked and checked our phones because, I’ll reiterate, you were not there. Once we saw the texts from Donghyuck we calmed down but then we didn’t know what to do. We didn’t want to go out without you, but we were hungry so Jeno suggested we make pancakes. That just wasn’t a good idea, obviously.”

“But we ordered pizza as soon as the restaurant opened and they cut it out in a heart!” Jeno excitedly stated. “After that we just watched romcoms on Netflix and texted you.”

Jaemin just stared fondly at the boys on either side of them as they recounted their night. They will be fine when I have to go one day. “It sounds like a pretty good day, I’m glad you guys were able to enjoy it.”

“It would’ve been perfect if you had been there, Jaem,” Jeno stated matter-of-factly.

I guess it’s now is as good as time as ever. “I have something important to tell you both.”

Renjun just looked confused, “You’re not leaving us to become Markhyuck’s third party, are you?”

Jaemin snorted, “No, nothing like that.” 

“Then what is it?” Jeno asked, unsure.

“I’m a vampire,” Jaemin spits out quickly, trying to get it over with. After a few moments of silence, he opened his eyes to look at their reactions. They thought he was a dumbass. That’s the only thing that was written on their faces. Something like, “Why are we dating this stupid bitch that likes to joke around like this?”

I guess this calls for drastic measures. At that moment, Jaemin carefully bares his fangs. Renjun flings himself backwards in shock while Jeno’s grip on Jaemin’s arm just grows stronger. 

“O- oh. You’re serious,” Jeno timidly says. 

“How did this happen to you, Jaemin?” Renjun asks, his tone laced in worry, “Are you ok?”

Jaemin listens closely to hear their heartbeats. Neither of them were beating exceptionally fast. Just a bit above average. They’re not afraid of me. Jaemin could cry, he was so happy. 

“Jaem, please don’t cry, we’re here for you,” Jeno reaches forward to wipe across Jaemin’s cheek. So, he was already crying. Great.

“I’m just so happy you guys don’t hate me. I love you both so much I don’t know what I would do if you hated me,” Jaemin let out, wiping under his eyes. 

“We could never hate you, Jaem,” Renjun moved back to his original spot and nestled his head against Jaemin’s chest, “you are our best friend. We love you with everything we have. No matter what happened, we could never hate you. You are a piece of us, Jaemin, you are a floret that helps make up the entire flower that is our relationship. We aren’t complete without you.”

At this point, all of them were teary eyed. Jaemin proceeded to tell the story about how Sooman had attacked him and turned him. Recounting what Hyuck had told him, that Sooman had been hiring young and attractive people to work at Hot & Young and would then turn them and blackmail them into working for him for years, in exchange for a blood supply that wasn’t live humans. Jeno and Renjun patiently listened, knowing how hard it must be for Jaemin to talk about his own death.

Once Jaemin had finished telling them all the vampire facts he knew, and even letting them in on the basics of Donghyuck and Mark’s story, it was really late. He kissed the two older boys on the forehead before standing and pulling them both up off the couch and holding their hands to walk upstairs to their shared bedroom. Jaemin paused as he entered the doorway, shocked at the mountain of stuffed animals on their bed. 

“It felt really empty without you, so we, uh, got these at the store during the post-Valentine’s Day sale,” Renjun admitted.

“Well since you two replaced me with stuffed animals, I get to sleep in the middle for the next few days. The cold feeling still hasn’t worn off and I want to be cuddled,” Jaemin stated firmly. 

“Fine,” the two replied simulanteously, pushing all of the stuffed animals off of the bed and into the floor.

After changing into pajamas and brushing their teeth, with Jeno begging Jaemin to poke his fangs in and out, they finally all crawled into bed. Renjun and Jeno easily wrapped themselves around Jaemin, trying to warm him up as best they could. “Jaem, it’s really weird not being able to feel you breathe,” Renjun mumbled against Jaemin’s neck. 

“Oops, sorry. I’ve been practicing breathing, but you guys just constantly take my breath away,” Jaemin smirked into the dark. He was suddenly hit with a pillow. I missed this.

It was silent for a while, Jaemin felt Jeno’s breath even out, meaning he had finally fallen asleep. 

“Hey Jaem, are you awake?”

“Yeah, what is it?”

“Are you going to be ok having to still see Sooman after what he did to you?”

“I don’t know, Injunnie. I don’t know.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yay! hello history buff vampire na jaemin! make sure to leave comments!! i dont have a set posting day considering im extremely busy with uni and work so im sorry if updates are super slow! please dont hate me!


	3. The Little Things

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> vampire boyfriend jaemin is a Go

The few weeks following Jaemin’s transformation were quite interesting. He was trying new things and learning the ropes of the new life he was forced to live from here on out. Jaemin was just thankful for all the support he had, from Jeno and Renjun, to Mark and Donghyuck, and even the other two boys who worked at the bar that Jaemin had discovered were also vampires, Taeyong and Taeil. 

 

Week One:

Jaemin walked into the building he adored most, the one that never seized to amaze him no matter how many times he had walked through its doors. He headed straight for one of the back rooms that he had gotten much acquainted with over the course of the year and a half that he had worked at the museum. It was his first day back at work since his, well, life development. He immediately skipped over to his coworker, Yeri’s, work station and wrapped his arm around her shoulder, “How much did you miss me?” 

“A ton. But only because we got a huge shipment of new artifacts and I’m exhausted,” she smirked at him, giving him a playful nudge.

The two had a brief conversation about the new artifacts they had received before Jaemin went into the back room to collect one. After carefully analyzing each piece, he finally settled on cleaning up a beautiful mask from the Nazca civilization of Peru. 

This is one of the things he really loved the most. Sitting at his station, working to showcase the true beauty of different ancient and magnificent objects such as this one. Jaemin always loses himself in the intricate details of whichever artifact he was working on in the moment, and this time was no different. He didn’t know how much time had passed as he put his full attention on the mask in front of him. Living in his own little world of history, he poked his tongue out in concentration and it caught on his fangs, immediately drawing blood. 

In that moment, all of his senses can think of is the taste of blood and the heartbeat he can hear just a few feet away from him. His vision goes slightly blurry and he jumps up from his chair, sprinting out of the room and directly to the bathroom. Why are my fangs out what the fuck? Jaemin swallows the rest of the blood that had gathered in his mouth before retracting his fangs and washing his face with cold water. 

“Are you ok? You knocked over the chair then just kind of ran out,” Yeri asks as he walks back into the workroom, voice laced with concern.

Jaemin forces out a small laugh, “Oh yeah, I’m fine! I just bit my tongue and I, uh, don’t like the taste of blood so I had to go spit it out.”

“Ah, I totally get that! The metallic taste always makes my stomach hurt, it’s gross,” Yeri commented before going back to her work, for which Jaemin was immensely grateful. He did not like talking about blood. He used to hate blood, but now even just the thought of it could get him a bit excited. 

During his lunch break, Jaemin went to find Donghyuck who was usually by the Egyptian exhibit ending one of his tours and hanging around while the visitors looked about. When he spotted the red headed boy, he made his way over and dramatically laid his head on his shoulder. “Hyuckie, I wanted to bite Yeri earlier,” he whispered. 

Donghyuck’s shoulders immediately tensed for the briefest of moments before relaxing and turning towards his best friend, “But you didn’t, did you?” Jaemin shook his head side to side, “I’m proud of you!” Hyuck ruffled Jaemin’s hair before they settled into a comfortable silence, looking around at all the beautiful pieces around them.

“Why did you almost bite her though? Did you skip breakfast?” Donghyuck questioned.

Jaemin hesitated before answering, embarrassed, “Well you see, I was so concentrated on cleaning up this mask from Peru that my fangs just kind of popped out and I didn’t notice until I accidentally cut my tongue on them and I tasted blood…”

Donghyuck stared at him for a good ten seconds in silence before proceeding to burst into laughter, “Jaem, I’m sorry, but how did you not feel them come out?”

“Ok sorry I actually enjoy my job so much I don’t focus on other things,” Jaemin crossed his arms and rolled his eyes at the boy who was still chuckling in front of him.

“Are you saying I, the person who literally begged on my knees for this job so I could talk about history all day, doesn’t love my job?” 

The two boys bickered back and forth for a while longer before Jaemin’s lunch break ended and he had to get back to work. The rest of his shift went by smoothly, no other blood-related issues coming up, luckily.

After his shift ended, Jaemin headed straight home, hoping to beat Renjun back from his night class so that he and Jeno could surprise him with dinner. They loved cooking with one another, mainly because it was time they could spend together, but also because Jeno got practice so that hopefully there would be no more burnt pancakes in the future.

Once Renjun got back from his class and the other two finished cooking up what they deemed NoMin’s Special Beef Stew, they all settled around the table to eat. While Jeno and Renjun ate their stew, Jaemin slowly ate a plate of plain beef and sipped on a mug of blood. Renjun talked about his annoying professor and Jeno mentioned the young blonde boy he worked with that had just got assigned to another foster home after only being at his previous one for 2 months. “How did it feel to be back at work, finally? I bet Yeri missed you last week when she got loaded down with your work,” Renjun asked. If Jaemin’s blood wasn’t cold he knows he would be blushing at the embarrassing memory from that morning.

“So, I may have gotten so focused on my work that I let my fangs slip out and I cut my tongue,” Jaemin said quietly. After a few moments of silence, he looked up from his plate to gouge his boyfriend’s silent reactions. 

In all silence Jeno replies, “that must’ve really sucked, Jaem.”

“Yeah, being a vampire must suck,” Renjun commented.

Jaemin stared at the two boys in front of him. We’re they actually making vampire puns right now. “Keep it up guys, before I decide you aren’t my type, anymore,” Jaemin flashed his fangs, completely unamused. The other two just burst into laughter, high fiving each other across the table. Jaemin couldn’t help the small smile on his face when he looked at his laughing boyfriends. Yeah, he was definitely going to leave out the part where he really wanted to bite his own coworker. 

 

Week Two:

Being back at the bar wasn’t something Jaemin particularly wanted, but he definitely needed a blood supply that wasn’t live humans. Sooman was his hookup. As long as Jaemin worked at Hot & Young and brought in customers, he would be provided with what he needed. 

It was a late night and Jaemin would be lying if he said he didn’t regret taking Donghyuck’s early shift along with his own late one. Especially when he feels a large hand rest on his shoulder after he finishes a drink for the customer in front of him. He slowly slides the drink forward before turning to face the man in front of him.

“You’ve been working so hard today Jaemin, I’m proud of you. You really do know how to work the crowd,” Sooman says, handing him a shot of vodka and another shot of what Jaemin could already smell was blood. Jaemin hesitated, not wanting to drink blood in such a public place. He was uncomfortable to say the least. 

Sooman just continued to stare at Jaemin, arms crossed as if saying, “Don’t take them and see what happens.” 

So Jaemin took the shot of blood, immediately chasing it with the vodka. It sounded backwards, but he hoped the vodka would mask the smell of blood. Sooman patted him on the back, a tad harshly if Jaemin did say so himself, before retreating to the back office that he normally resided in.  
As Jaemin sighed and put away the two shot glasses, he made eye contact with Taeyong across the bar who was giving him a sympathetic look. Taeyong had been stuck in Hot & Young for years, and Donghyuck informed him that he wasn’t even the oldest employee either. Jaemin didn’t want this bar to be his future. He just didn’t.

The shot of blood that he had taken had refreshed is senses a bit and he used that to his advantage. The only thing getting Jaemin through the rest of the night was listening to the two girls in the back of the bar who were laughing and holding hands across the table.

 

Week Three: 

Date night was one of Jaemin’s favorite nights. Despite their busy schedules, the three boys always made sure to have at least one date night a month. Jaemin got to dress everyone, while the other two took turns deciding what they would be doing.

This month Jeno decided to go out to eat, something they hadn’t done in a while due to money reasons. But they had been saving and Renjun had even made a spreadsheet of their expenses to make sure they had enough money to accommodate date night.

It was also a special night because it was their first time eating in public since Jaemin had turned. They had been practicing and experimenting with different foods to see what Jaemin could and couldn’t handle. Renjun kept track of how Jaemin’s body reacted to each food while Jeno brought him cups of blood to wash down the really bad rejects.

“What are you going to get, Jaem?” Jeno asked, genuinely a bit curious even though he knew options were limited.

“I think just a steak and some fries, simple.”

Renjun piped up then, not even looking up from his menu, “Get garlic fries, you always seemed to get things down better when they had garlic on them.”

Jeno and Jaemin just looked at each other and smiled. That was their boyfriend.

After some conversation about their individual work weeks that eventually led to a heated debate about one of the relationship triangles in their current favorite show, their food finally arrived.

“This is a very important moment,” Jeno stated dramatically, he and Renjun both proceeding to start a drum roll on the table before Jaemin took a bite of his fries.

After he gets down not one, but four fries, without needing some steak, the other two boys cheer loudly. The quieted down after noticing everyone staring at them. After some awkward silence, they erupt into soft giggles, Jeno kissing Jaemin on the cheek and Renjun giving his hand a content squeeze from across the table.

 

Week Four:

Donghyuck was finally returning Jaemin’s favor and repaying him for covering his shift at the bar, so Jaemin was finally getting a Friday night in with his boyfriends. When he returned home from his shift at the museum, Jeno was already setting out a mound of pillows and blankets on the carpet in front of the T.V. while Renjun was picking up Chinese takeout on his way back home from his shift at the hospital. 

Settling into the blankets and leaning back against the couch with their takeout in hand, Jeno finally hits play on the movie he had picked out for them to watch first.

“Jeno, I swear to god, please tell me you’re joking,” Jaemin groaned, ready to throw his container of food at the other boy.

“What’s wrong with the Twilight series? You know I have a crush on Jasper and Alice,” Jeno replied pointedly. Renjun giggled as the movie continued to play in the background of the other two’s bickering.

“I was gonna say that I’m glad you’re not so broody like these vampires, Jaem, but you might just prove me wrong.”

“Aw thanks, Jen.”

“I wish you sparkled like that. You don’t have any cool powers.”

“Injun, you could’ve at least been romantic and said ‘Oh Jaeminie, you don’t have to sparkle like that because you already shine so bright in my eyes!’ but no. You just had to be yourself,” Jaemin ranted dramatically.

Renjun nuzzled his face into the crook of Jaemin’s neck in response, “It’s why you love me.”

“You don’t have to call me out like that,” Jaemin mumbled, molding himself to fit closer with his boyfriend.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> im not sure when ill be able to start writing the next chapter but please look forward to it! it will be introducing the next big plot point! thank you so much for readin! dont forget to comment, please! i love love love constructive criticism!


	4. Iolite

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry this chapter took so long to put out, but it's pretty long. i hope that makes up for the wait. also i made a twitter just for this fic so feel free to talk to me @beinghvman oof. ill tweet occasional spoilers and updates and will also answer questions on there. thanks for reading!

Renjun smiled as he kissed his two boyfriends goodnight. It had been a long day of cuddling and baking together to celebrate their 3-year anniversary. And to make up for that long day, he had to stay up all night to study for his next exam which was coming up way sooner than he would’ve liked it to. 

When the other two finally made their way upstairs to bed, Renjun groaned dramatically and took a big bite out of one of the many cupcakes the trio had baked. He dragged his feet over to fridge to get some milk and immediately spit out part of his cupcake. Although Renjun was fine with blood, nursing was his dream, he had to be fine with blood, he still was not used to seeing bags of it in his fridge. If he was being honest, it’s not particularly something he wanted to have to get used to. He closed the fridge with a sigh and slumped into a chair at the kitchen table where his notes were already scattered from the previous night.

Hours had passed and Renjun was completely zoned out by this point, scribbling fangs into the margins of his notes. Those fangs were the reason he had gone to the doctor for insomnia mixed with nightmares and heightened anxiety. He told Jaemin and Jeno that it was just the stress from school, he didn’t want to worry them. 

Renjun was jolted out of his trance as thunder clapped. Maybe the rain is the reason I was so calm. A crack of lightning followed and suddenly the house was silent. Renjun heard a crash from upstairs and he was immediately on his feet, sprinting up the stairs. He made the turn into their bedroom and there was Sooman directly in front of him. Renjun had only seen the man maybe once but he could never forget the ugliness and evil that dripped from every one of his features. 

Sooman grabbed Renjun and when he did, Renjun was finally able to see the scene in the bedroom. Jaemin was stood in front of the bed shielding Jeno from the intruder. “If you want the little one alive, you have to turn the other,” Sooman snickered, tightening his grip on Renjun. 

Jaemin looked like he had just been shattered into a billion pieces. Renjun has never seen him look so broken than he did right now. He heard Jeno cry out, begging to be bitten, and Renjun couldn’t handle it. He didn’t know how this was happening. How did Sooman get inside? Why was he making Jaemin turn someone? 

“Jaeminie,” Renjun started, choking down a sob, “please don’t turn him. Neither of us want that for him. It’s ok. I promise.” Sooman’s hold on him changed, putting Renjun into an easy position to be bitten. Jaemin’s eyes were locked on Renjun, unwavering, even as Jeno hit him, crying out to get his attention to turn him. There were tears running down his face, the uselessness written in bold letters on his beautiful face.

Renjun called out weakly, “My Jeno,” he cooed, “my Jaeminie. I love you-” He could barely get out those last three words before he felt a pair of sharp fangs pierce his neck. He was too weak to move. The two boys in front of him were yelling, that much he knew. Their sweet voices were gone and replaced with hoarse cries. It was hard just trying to keep his eyes open, to make sure he could take in the last few moments he had with the people he loved most in life. 

The last thing Renjun saw was Jaemin’s eyes turn completely black.

A clap of thunder shook the house and Renjun woke up in a sweat. He panics, tears running down his face. In no time, he was off his feet and running towards and up the stairs. Yes, it was just a dream, but that didn’t stop the racing of his heart at the fact that he didn’t know if his boys were safe. As he nears the very top step, another bolt of lightning strikes and casts shadows outside the window closes to him, followed by a loud clap of thunder. Renjun screams, stumbling backwards on the stairs.

Everything was in slow motion then. Renjun feels himself completely lose his balance, his body vibrating with adrenaline. His back slams against the stairs, the momentum of the fall sending him rolling down them. The nanoseconds before his head slammed into the tiled floor at the bottom of the stairs seemed like it lasted over an hour. 

Then suddenly he was on a cloud, sitting crisscross in front of a small, old television. It was filled with static, and he was drawn towards it. He reached forward and placed his palm on top of the box. The static immediately ceased, replaced with a scene of his parents. It was when they had forced him to dress up for Halloween in a group costume with them. He had actually contemplated running away just to avoid the situation, but it ended up being one of the best nights he had ever had. The smiles on his parents’ faces when he had been the one to ask to get a group photo together never failed to make him feel warm inside.

The screen flickered again and there was Sicheng. It was when they had first officially met. Sicheng had been a TA for Renjun’s bio class in his first semester of college, but they formally met when Renjun nervously went to a club meeting for international students. They bonded over their shared nursing majors and hadn’t even realized they had slipped into their native tongue until Sicheng’s boyfriend, Yuta, whined about wanting to be a part of the conversation.

Then there was Jaemin and Jeno. They had been in the same psychology class their second semester. Renjun was always front row, so he had never really acknowledged anyone else in the class. But one day that changed when his teacher announced that they had to get into groups of 3 for a project. The small boy awkwardly turned around, not making any acquaintances seeming to be a huge disadvantage in that moment. His mind was racing with so many different thoughts, like what if he couldn’t find a group to be with? Would the teacher have to announce to the class that he didn’t have a group? In that moment, he made eye contact with one of the prettiest boys he had ever seen, and said boy proceeded to smile at him, eyes turning into beautiful crescents and melting Renjun to his core. While stuck in a trance, someone waved a hand in front of his face. “Hey, do you want to be in a group together?” the person asked, drawing Renjun’s attention away from the raven-haired boy. When he turned to see who was speaking to him, Renjun was once again in shock by the blinding smile of another one of the prettiest boys he had ever seen. Renjun smiled back and nodded, moving his stuff to allow the taller boy to sit next to him. He chanced another look back and saw raven-haired boy still looking around the room. Once he caught his attention, he waved the boy down towards them. Renjun likes to tell people it’s because he wanted to be nice and that it’s what anyone would’ve done, but everyone else just likes to make fun of him and say it was because he had fallen in love with Sir Lee Jeno’s eye smile at first sight. Maybe it was a little bit of both.

He was with Jeno and Jaemin again, but they were in their dorm watching a movie with Donghyuck and Mark. It was the night before their graduation and they were drinking wine one last time on their uncomfortable couch. Technically the movie was just background noise as they recounted dumb stories from their past 4 years of college. They laughed until they cried, and even cried until they laughed at how they were crying. They had been through so much together and had watched each other grow into the people they were now. Renjun was so proud of them all, including himself. Every one of them already had jobs lined up for after the summer. Renjun had gotten into the nursing program. It had felt like a dream that they had gotten this far. He had never been so excited to take the leap into the next big step of his life.

Another flicker and there he was, standing inside the house that he, Jeno, and Jaemin had bought. Together. It was a small townhouse and it was pretty run down, but it was theirs. They had the whole summer free to put it all together before they would be starting work and school again. The most special day was when they finally decorated the living room. They had saved it for last, and Jaemin had ran in giggling, holding a gallon of paint. “Jaem, we said we weren’t actually going to paint the living room because it was too expensive,” Renjun sighed, pushing the couch into the corner. 

“Well, I got the lady to give me a gallon for free because they had mixed the wrong color and didn’t have anything to do with it,” he stated proudly, “I figured, since we couldn’t paint the whole living room blue, we could just paint the front door blue instead!” Renjun choked out a gasp while Jeno cheered in immediate agreement. Jaemin came up with some odd ideas sometimes, but this one Renjun had not anticipated whatsoever. He knew he wouldn’t be able to change his mind though once he was set on it, so Renjun just sighed and picked up the paint brushes and tape and walked towards the door.

After the trio had finished painting, they stood on their front steps together. “This is our home guys,” Jeno nudged the other two, setting off a fit of giggles.

The static clouded the screen once more, Renjun looked around in confusion. When he looked back, the television was gone, replaced by something small and shiny. As he leaned forward to grab the object and he get a better look, he fell through the cloud.

Then he was there, standing on his staircase, shiny object in his hand, looking down at the scene in front of him. At the bottom of the stairs was Jeno and Jaemin, both of them cradling a pale Renjun in their arms. Jeno was sobbing into the phone, reciting their address. Renjun didn’t know exactly what was happening, but he couldn’t stand to look at it. He turned to walk into their shared room but before he could step towards it he was suddenly teleported onto his bed. I guess I don’t have to walk if I don’t want to. 

Renjun finally took notice of the object he had been holding ever since he fell from the cloud. He held it out in front of him. It was a necklace. Not one he had ever seen before, but it was beautiful. There was a blue stone attached to it and when he touched it, it hummed out to him. Iolite. He could feel the iolite pulsing in his hand, almost like if he were holding his own heart. 

He was broken out of his thoughts on the stone as he heard the hurried words of the authorities and medical team downstairs. Renjun didn’t want to move. He sat on the bed, listening for everyone to leave. He knew he was dead, that much is obvious. He isn’t dumb. It was just hard to believe that his life ended before he could see the two most important people in his life one last time while being alive. His dreams were put to an end before they could ever really begin, but he could sulk about that another time. For now, all that was on his mind were the two boys downstairs.

The front door finally slammed closed and the only noises left in the house were the sobs of two beautiful boys. Renjun stood up from the bed and moved to the hallway at the top of the stairs. He peeked downstairs, spotting Jeno and Jaemin on the couch. He sat on the stairs watching them for over an hour. He really didn’t want to see their faces as they cried so he just waited until they stopped before moving into the living room. Both boys were numbed to just occasional sniffles when Renjun stepped in front of them. Jaemin’s face was buried in his hands so Renjun took this time to crouch in front of Jeno, taking in all of his beautiful features. He slowly moved his hand to cup Jeno’s cheek, eliciting a small noise choked up from the back of the raven-haired boy’s throat. Jaemin turned to acknowledge the sound and immediately gasped, breaking into another sob. 

“I-Injun-“ Jaemin choked out, staring right at the boy in question. Jeno immediately grabbed Jaemin’s hand, trying to calm the boy, not knowing the reason for his sudden outburst was because he was seeing their dead boyfriend.

Renjun stuttered, shocked at the situation, “You can see me?” The younger boy nodded, not being able to speak through sobs. Jaemin couldn’t look away from Renjun, and just like in Renjun’s nightmare, he looked absolutely shattered. 

All three of them sat there in silence, Jeno finally speaking up, “Jaem, what have you been looking at?” 

“Injunnie,” he stated bluntly, causing Jeno to whimper.  
“Please, don’t do that Jaemin.”

“No, I actually see him,” Jaemin nodded towards where Renjun was sitting quietly on the floor.

The pain and confusion on Jeno’s face was overwhelming. Renjun hated it. “You shouldn’t have told him Jaemin,” Renjun whined.

“I couldn’t just not tell him, Renjun,” Jaemin responded weakly. He was right. 

Jeno stood up slowly from the couch, voice raising, “You can see him? And speak to him?” Jaemin nodded. “I-Is it because you’re dead too?” Renjun gasped slightly, they had never once referred to Jaemin as ‘dead’ before. It was just an unspoken rule.

“I think so,” Jaemin mumbled out, curling himself deeper into the couch. Jeno’s face softens a bit, realizing what he had just said, and sits back down next to Jaemin. 

Jeno ran his fingers through Jaemin’s hair for a few minutes humming. Renjun noticed his eyes had gotten darker, which was odd consider they usually shined brighter after crying. “So, I guess you have to turn me now,” Jeno stated calmly, causing both Jaemin and Renjun to gasp in surprise.

Jaemin immediately stood up from his spot on the couch, Jeno following his lead. “Why are you so shocked? Now that Renjun is gone, I am left to grow old all alone,” a tear rolled down Jeno’s cheek, “I have to grow old without you and I also don’t get to see Injunnie. It isn’t fair!” Jeno was yelling now. His cheeks were red and Renjun just wanted to wrap himself around him.

Renjun spoke up, calmly, “You can’t turn him Jaemin. I want him to see me and be able to talk to me, but I don’t want him to be a vampire and have to suffer like you do. He has to grow old and experience life in ways that we can’t. Plus, he would have to work for Sooman to earn blood. Neither of us want that. Please, Jaem, as my last wish, don’t turn him.” At that, Jaemin crouches into a ball trying to regain his composure, covering his ears while tears stream down his face.

After a few moments, Jaemin finally stands up straight and looks directly into Jeno’s eyes and cups his cheeks, “Lee Jeno, I love you so much. But I can’t turn you-“

Jeno pushed Jaemin away from him, yelling, “Donghyuck turned Mark, why can’t you turn me?”

Jaemin tries to raise his voice, Renjun can feel the sadness and betrayal rolling off of both of them, “Donghyuck suffers to this day because of his decision. It still fucks with his head. No matter how much reassurance he gets from Mark, you just can’t get over having to kill someone. Especially if it’s someone you love,” Jaemin takes a few deep breathes before continuing, “Renjun doesn’t want me to turn you. We both care about you so much Jeno. We want you to grow old and experience life like it’s meant to be experienced. Turning you means dooming you to an immortal life, having to work for Sooman and follow his orders just to get a blood supply that isn’t live humans.” 

The room is filled with sobs and Jeno eventually runs upstairs to the privacy of their bedroom, slamming the door behind him. The other two boys sit in silence, not really knowing what to say. Normally when someone dies you’re supposed to mourn them and think about all the things you never got to say to them, but it’s kind of hard when you can still see them and talk to them.

Eventually Jaemin speaks, “That necklace is pretty, where did it come from?” Renjun subconsciously reaching up to grab at the stone, feeling it thrum in his hand.

“I’m not sure exactly. I think I was in heaven but not heaven? I was on a cloud and watched a bunch of my best memories on a little television and after it was done, the necklace appeared and I grabbed it and ended up back here?” Renjun rambles out. Jaemin nods in response, trying to stifle a yawn. 

“Jaemin you need to sleep. It’s 9am and you barely slept. I know you’re exhausted.”

“You’re right, but I’m pretty sure that Jeno locked the door and doesn’t want me in there so I’m just gonna have to sleep right here.”

Jaemin slowly maneuvers around the room, grabbing a blanket and pillow off of the window seat and settles into the couch to sleep. 

“Injunnie,” Renjun hums in acknowledgment, “do you mind not being here?” The look of confusion on Renjun’s face has Jaemin backtracking immediately, “I mean, just be out of sight and sing a little bit until I fall asleep? It’s hard to sleep if I can see you but can’t hold you. But I need you to sing because I don’t know if I can sleep otherwise.”

“Anything for you Jaem.”

It didn’t take but a few lines of song before Jaemin was fast asleep, Renjun walked back around the front of the couch, reaching out to brush away his bangs before realizing that he couldn’t. He sighed, trying to remember the way it felt to touch his boyfriends. To just casually brush their bangs out of their faces, or hold their hands. 

After hours of endless thoughts and spacing out, Renjun moved into his bedroom to check on Jeno. The boy was sat on the bed with a notebook in his hands writing. Renjun isn’t usually nosey, but what else are his ghost powers good for? He peeked around at the writing, noticing it was a letter. After scanning the contents of the different pages Jeno turned to, Renjun figured out they were letters to his current kids that he worked cases for. He was letting them know that while he is going through a hard time right now, he has not abandoned them and will be back in work soon. 

Renjun held onto his necklace, feeling the pulsing speed up a bit. Jeno was such a hard worker and cared so much for the people he worked with. He is just such a genuine and warm-hearted person that he never failed to make Renjun constantly swoon. Renjun truly loved the man in front of him. He reached out and gently ran his hand across Jeno’s pretty face. The boy sighed lightly and a small smile appeared on his face.

 

The weekend had been Jeno locked in their bedroom all alone, Renjun occasionally going in to check on him and update Jaemin. Once Jaemin started back to work during the week, Jeno would come out of the bedroom to occasionally get food and binge watch random movies on Netflix to distract himself. 

Renjun could not stand listening to Jeno’s breakdowns and not being able to help in any way. It may sound bad, but Renjun just wanted to be far away from Jeno and all the emotion. Even his necklace couldn’t keep him sane at this point. It had been a week since his death and wanted out of that house. 

Then he moved to the steps outside of his home. Oh. So, it’s not like American Horror Story. That was way easier than I expected. 

After realizing he could move as he pleased, Renjun knew exactly where he wanted to be. The hospital. So he moved.

The fluorescent lights felt like another home around him. He couldn’t smell since he was dead but he knew exactly what he would be smelling if he could. It was about the normal time that he would be doing his shadowing if he was alive. Renjun made his way around the ward, checking up on all the patients that he knows. It all feels normal. Renjun smiles, reaching up to hold his necklace. Its thrumming, and when he looks down at it, it’s reflecting so many pretty colors. His eyes follow one of the beams of light and he suddenly sees him. 

Down the hallway is Sicheng, making his normal rounds. Ones that Renjun should be making with him. When Sicheng asked Renjun to shadow him specifically, he had never felt so honored. Sicheng was such an amazing person, and an even more amazing nurse. 

Renjun slowly walked down the hallway towards the older boy, whistling the tune one of their patients had taught the both of them. As he gets closer, Sicheng’s head shoots up and they make direct eye contact. Sicheng’s eyes widen just a fraction before he quickly whips he head in another direction and walks away from Renjun. Did he see me? What the fuck? Renjun moves in the direction the elder had gone, following him towards where he assumed he was heading. 

When Renjun first started shadowing at the hospital, Sicheng showed him the secret staircase that no one used anymore. They would meet up there on breaks or before or after their shifts and just talk. It became a special place for the both of them. A place they could go if they needed peace to breathe or anything of the sort. So that’s where Renjun assumed he would go in a time like this.

He moved to the outside of the door and peaked in, seeing Sicheng sitting on the stairs with his head in his hands. Renjun moved inside, taking a seat next to him. “Sicheng, can you see me?”

“If I say no will you go away?” he replied, not looking up.

Renjun frowned, “Do you not want to see me? Did I do something wrong?”

Sicheng looked up and let out a small laugh, wiping a tear from his cheek, “No, Renjunnie, you didn’t do anything wrong. I’m just really sad still. It’s weird seeing you but knowing you’re technically not here anymore to be my right-hand man.”

“I’m your right-hand man?” Renjun wiggled his eyebrows, “Don’t let Yuta hear you say that.” The two laughed before Renjun got serious again, “How can you see me, by the way?”

Sicheng rubbed his hands down his face tiredly, “Well, that’s kind of hard to explain? I guess I’m like a ghost whisperer? One of the biggest reasons I went into nursing was so that I could help guide the spirits right as they’ve passed and not let them wander alone without any insight. I’ve met so many spirits who were dead for such a long time and didn’t understand it or know what to do until they met me.”

“Can you explain it to me?” 

“You’re smart Renjun. All of those old spirts I met didn’t even know how to leave the hospital that they died in or even transport around it. You figured all of that out on your own. I can explain more once the time comes, but for now, I think you have this under control.”

Renjun smiled at that, hearing Sicheng compliment him always made him feel special. He held onto his stone, it was heating up slightly and thrumming at a faster pace than normal. Having his mentor acknowledge him like that really got him all riled up.

“When did you get that necklace?” Sicheng asked, a bit mesmerized.

Renjun pulled it off and held it out for Sicheng to see better, “I got it in the place where you see memories right after you pass. When I grabbed it, I was brought back to reality and it came with me. It keeps me calm and helps me pass time.”

“I always knew you were special,” Sicheng smiles brightly, “there have only ever been a handful of ghosts that I know of to have special items like this. They tend to always be some kind of stone. What is yours?”

“It told me it was iolite,” Renjun replied shyly.

“Iolite! That is so amazing! Your iolite stone gives you balance and provides self-assurance, which is why it’s calming. It also stimulates astral bodies and psychic awareness. If it is what I am thinking of correctly, you can use the stone to hold memories and thoughts and transfer them to people when you place the stone against them. Also, if you come in contact with any iolite that living people can see you can still put thoughts and memories in it for them to keep.”

All of that information shocked and amazed Renjun all at once, the thought of having such a beautiful ability had him beaming with happiness. He would still be able to spread love and good energy to people and help care for them even while dead.

“I- I will come visit you tomorrow, I have to go try this out!”

Sicheng waved as Renjun immediately moved to his home. He moved into the living room where Jaemin was on his lunch break, scarfing down a sandwich. Renjun yelled in excitement, “Jaemin you have to come watch this!”

Jaemin choked on his sandwich in surprise, “Injun-,” he coughed, “you can’t sneak up on me like that!”

“No time for your choking! You need to get Jeno down here right now so I can show him something!” Renjun was bouncing on his toes. Jaemin just rolled his eyes as he walked towards the stairs, Renjun moving with him until they were in front of the bedroom door. Jaemin knocked on the door.

“Go away Jaemin I am having my alone time,” Jeno answered, annoyed.

“Injunnie wants to show you something.” 

Its silent for a moment before they lock on the door turns and Jeno opens the door slightly, “What is it?”

Jaemin sighs, “He won’t tell me, he said he wants you downstairs.”

Renjun really couldn’t take the tension between these two because of the whole “turn me into a vampire” fiasco. He was really hoping this stone could help them settle some of it. 

Jeno finally gave in and begrudgingly walked downstairs, plopping himself down on the couch. “What did you want to show us?” Jaemin asked, reaching down to grab his sandwich.

Renjun just smiled, pulling his necklace off from around his neck. He held the stone tightly between his hands, thinking of everything he has wanted to say to Jeno in the past week. When he opened his hands, the stone was glowing. He made eye contact with Jaemin before reaching to hold the stone against Jeno’s cheek. The glow slowly faded as he held it there, once it was back to normal, pulled away.

Jeno just sat there in shock, tears streaming down his face. Oh, one more thing. He places one more thought into the stone and places it once again against Jeno’s cheek. When he pulls away, Jeno immediately bursts into laughter, leaving Jaemin confused.

“What’s so funny?” Jaemin asks, pouting.

“Injunnie said-“ Jeno chokes on his laugh, “that the mayo you put on that sandwich has been expired since last month and he just forgot to throw it out.”

Jaemin’s face scrunches up in disgust, “Renjun why didn’t you just tell me before?”

Jeno stands up and pinches Jaemin’s cheeks, “Aw it’s ok Jaeminie, I’ll take care of you if you get sick,” he coos.

Renjun watches as his two boyfriends bicker, giggling at them. His stone thrums steadily in his hand. The balance was slowly being restored in their home, and it felt so good.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i hope u enjoyed this chapter uwu plz leave comments and feedback thx love u<3


	5. Describe Each Bite in Detail

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so sorry for the long wait. I just went through the hardest semester at uni ever. But it's over now. I am going to be working all summer though so I still don't know when i will have time to write, hopefully though it will be more frequent. Thank you to whoever has stuck it out this long.
> 
> Another note, this chapter has not been edited or betaed so please forgive the mistakes.

Even though Renjun was dead, that didn’t stop him from trying to learn more and help people. What was his purpose if not to find a way to use his death to provide something good to the world? 

 

Week Two:

“When will Yuta be back from Japan?” Renjun groaned, poking his finger through Sicheng’s arm.

“For the thousandth time, he will be back at the end of the month.”

“But I want to mess around with him. Give him a little scare, maybe.”

Sicheng let out a little snort, “Yeah, ok.” After finishing the last bite of his sandwich, Sicheng stood up from the steps in their little corridor, “Come on, I have a few more rounds to make, then I want to introduce you to someone.”

Renjun followed Sicheng around the hospital, trying out new tricks he had been learning with his crystal. The iolite wasn’t just good for thoughts and memories but could also give off good vibes and elicit good dreams in the sleeping patients. Sicheng’s patients mainly consisted of older people so Renjun liked to help them dream of things that involved their youth. There was one of the patients that had become his favorite over the week. It was an old lady who had Alzheimer’s and was currently dealing with a virus. Sicheng told him some stories about the lady that he had found out from her family members, and Renjun used those to help her dream about those good memories and feel like she was experiencing them. It helped her wake up in a better mood, even if she didn’t know why herself. 

It wasn’t until the end of his shift that Sicheng finally mentioned who he wanted Renjun to meet. It had been driving Renjun crazy, who else was able to see him?

“Today they are pulling the plug for one of our patients, I wanted you to be here for it,” Sicheng whispered. 

“So you want me to meet someone who just became a ghost?”

“What? No. I mean yeah, I guess, you can see me do my job, but that’s not all. I kind of have a little helper. He is who I want you to meet.” Just then Renjun felt something tap him on the shoulder and if he wouldn’t have already been dead, he definitely would have died of a heart attack on the spot. He hadn’t felt something solid other than his crystal in almost two weeks. Turning around to see what could have possibly touched him, he was met with the glowing smile of a boy that looked to be about his age.

“Oops, sorry. Forgot you were new for a second. My name is Lucas,” the boy announced, holding out his hand as if asking for a handshake. Renjun hesitated before letting his hand settle into the grip of the taller boy. It was such a foreign feeling for some reason.

“Renjun, this is who I wanted you to meet. Lucas was rushed into the emergency department about 9 months ago but didn’t make it. I helped him out a bit with the whole ghost thing and he kind of became a nice little pal to have. He is Chinese too. He was like a puppy I got too attached to and now he helps me out with ghosts here in the hospital. He was also pretty advanced and adapted super quickly like you did, except he doesn’t have any crystal powers.” 

“So, what you’re saying is that you’ve been cheating on me with another mentee for 9 months. Wow suddenly I don’t feel special at all,” Renjun rolled his eyes, but cracking a small smile. “It is nice to meet you though, Lucas. It’s really nice to be able to touch someone.”

“You can touch me anytime you want!” Lucas paused for a second, “Wait, I didn’t mean it like that. I mean, I could mean it like that, but-“ Sicheng laughed, cutting him off, “Sorry Lu, Injunnie here is in a relationship.” At that, Lucas looked a bit confused.

“You’re in a relationship even while dead? How does that work?”

Renjun hesitated, “Well I mean one of them is a vampire, so we can still see and talk to each other. So I guess that’s how it kind of works?”

“One of them?”

“Oh, yeah, I have two boyfriends. I can talk to the other one through iolite crystals though.”

“Isn’t that a lot of trouble to go through? I think I would be miserable. It’s hard enough for me to see my best friends even though they’re happy together, I never even got to date him-“ Lucas was rambling off quietly.

“Ok guys enough chitchat, it’s time,” Sicheng got both of their attention. They followed him as he walked into the room. Renjun had never had to personally see someone die, other than himself really, so it was an odd experience. It was so quick, watching the machine be turned off, the flatline, then there the patient was in ghost form looking out at his family that was present. Renjun wasn’t sure what was supposed to happen next, but then Lucas spoke up, “Mr. Wen, I’m Yukhei. Take a moment with your family, then we can talk.”

The older man nodded, proceeding to walk around the room and caress each of his family members gently. When he turned to look at Lucas, Renjun noticed a sparkling out of the corner of his eyes near the foot of the hospital bed. It was a door? Ok, now Renjun was very confused. He assumed it was the next step for Mr. Wen, but why hadn’t Renjun gotten a door? Why was he stuck here? He wasn’t necessarily complaining, he was just confused. That’s when Lucas moved across the room towards Mr. Wen and began conversing with him. They were speaking quietly but Renjun still managed to catch a few bits of things Lucas had said.

“Yes sir, this is your door. You feel it, don’t you. What is this door from? Ah your wife picked out the wood? It’s very beautiful, sir. It is time. Your parents are definitely waiting to greet you. In time again, Mr. Wen.”

And then he was gone, and so was the door. Lucas turned around and flashed his bright smile at both Renjun and Sicheng. 

It wasn’t until Sicheng was on his way home that Renjun finally spoke up since Lucas had finally went on his own way for the day, “Why haven’t I gotten my door?”

It took a little while before Sicheng could answer, he sighed softly, glancing over at Renjun, “I honestly don’t know. I have been trying to figure out a specific trigger since I can remember, but there just isn’t one. It’s different for everyone.”

“Is that why Lucas is still around, he hasn’t gotten his door either?”

“Lucas is a special case, he kind of uh,” Sicheng grimaced a bit, “missed his door?” Renjun stopped in his tracks. 

“What do you mean he missed it? How do you miss a big sparkling door?” 

“Well, his death was kind of traumatic. It really isn’t my place to talk about his death, or his door. Just know that life is different for everyone, and so is death. Lucas is a great guy. I’m really thankful for him and how he helps me out in the hospital. Like today, Mr. Wen got his door immediately, and since there were so many people around, I couldn’t help him out. So that’s where Lucas usually comes in.”

Renjun thought a lot about Lucas for the rest of the night. Having Sicheng of all people talk so highly of him really caught Renjun’s interest. He also couldn’t keep the thought of the door situation out of his mind. Why did Lucas miss his door? When would Renjun get his own door? What would the door look like? 

Blue. Hopefully the door would be blue.

 

Week Three:

“LUCAS YOU ARE SURPRISINGLY A GENIUS!” Renjun yelled, throwing himself into the taller boy’s arms.

They had spent the last week together going around the hospital and even just taking walks around the park nearby. Renjun had been showing Lucas all of the things he could do with his iolite, and today when they met up, Lucas had a Brilliant idea. How had Renjun not yet thought of just scattering iolite throughout their home, or getting Jaemin and Jeno their own iolite jewelry?

Renjun impatiently went through his usual rounds with Sicheng, now with Lucas following them around as well. They made small talk about their favorite tv shows and movies they used to watch (Lucas absolutely LOVED New Girl and was appalled when Renjun had never even heard of it). When they finally finished, Sicheng and Lucas barely got a “goodbye” before Renjun was transporting himself back to his home, meeting Jaemin as he was just getting home as well. 

“Jaeminnie~” Renjun cooed, batting his eyelashes as Jaemin sat on the couch to sip on a mug of blood.

“What do you want?” Jaemin deadpanned, “You never meet me back at home anymore. Stop batting your eyes at me! I get it! You’re cute!”

“Will you go to the mall so we can buy iolite? Lucas gave me an amazing idea, which is very shocking, but nonetheless appreciated. I want to surprise Jeno when he gets home.”

Jaemin groaned as he pushed himself up off the couch, “You know I can’t say no to you.” Pulling on his shoes, Jaemin mentioned, “Also, I still want to meet this Lucas guy. You’ve seemed a lot happier since getting another ghost buddy.”

“You’ll meet him eventually,” Renjun brushed it off, thinking about all of the different places he could put iolite around the house. 

Renjun didn’t wait on Jaemin, moving himself to the mall to go ahead and start picking out chunks of iolite and trying to decide which bracelet Jeno would like best. He thanked himself for saving up from his job throughout his first few years of college so that he didn’t work while getting his masters. Now he could get Jaemin to use that money for this investment. It wasn’t disgustingly expensive for the outcome he was going to receive, but it was definitely a whole semesters worth of textbooks. 

“You know, you could have at least road in the car with me to give me company since you asked me to come here,” Jaemin announced when he finally walked into the store. 

“Jeno will be home soon though, so I wanted to make this as quick as possible. Quick which one do you think he will like better,” Renjun bit his lip, holding up two different bracelets for Jaemin to inspect.

“Definitely that one,” Jaemin pointed to the simpler of the two. Renjun nodded his head in agreement.

“I’ll ride back home with you,” Renjun said as they made their way out of the store, Jaemin holding two heavy bags of rock. 

Jaemin let out a light laugh, “You just want to start putting messages into the crystals.” Renjun shrugged, “Ok, and?”

The two of them sat in the car together, giggling over the cheesy or dumb things Renjun would put in the different rocks. When Renjun touched the bracelet they had picked out for Jeno, Jaemin piped up, “I think you should sing that Chinese song that you would sing for us whenever we were upset or just had a long day.” Renjun smiled, that was perfect. 

When they got home, they picked the best places to put the different hunks of rock. They put one in the bathroom, Renjun and Jaemin died as Renjun placed a thought about being proud of Jeno for taking care of his business in that one. They also placed one on each of the bed side tables, for good morning and goodnight messages for both of the boys, not just Jeno. They put one on the dining table and the last one in the living room. 

It wasn’t long before Jeno finally arrived home, carrying a bag of Chinese take-out. “Hello loves of my life and all things good in this world!”

“No time for greetings, Renjun will not stop yelling at me to give this to you immediately,” Jaemin said, handing over the bracelet that they two boys had picked at the store. As Jeno held it in his palm, he began to tear up.

“Could you two not wait until after I ate my dinner to make me cry, that would’ve been great. A nice change of pace, really.” Jeno glanced around the room, taking in the pieces of iolite that he could see. “Thank you, guys, so much, this was a super amazing surprise. I love you both.” Jaemin pulled Jeno into a hug, “We love you, loser.”

After watching Spiderman: Homecoming, courtesy of Renjun, Jaemin decided that he definitely missed the smell of sweets in the house. “It’s been a while since we baked,” Jaemin glanced over at the stairs, “so I think we should make some cupcakes. Jam out to some music like we used to.” Renjun nodded, giving Jaemin an encouraging smile.

Jeno nodded furiously, “My dessert stomach is starving!”

The three boys went to work. Renjun decided on the flavor and what icing to use (chocolate cake with chocolate icing of course), the other two groaning but giving in pretty easily. They had One Direction blasting in the background, Renjun giggling whenever one of them hit the high notes really dramatically. 

All it took was 35 minutes and a chocolate mouth covered Jeno before the three of them were sat at the kitchen table, cupcakes cooling in front of them. “Ok I can’t wait any longer,” Jeno announced, grabbing a cupcake and sinking his teeth into it. The room was silent. Jeno glanced up to see Jaemin staring at him. “Um, can I help you?” Jaemin just motioned toward the iolite stone that was sat on the table between them.

Jeno hesitated before reaching towards the stone. As his palm came in contact with it, he was hit with a burst of speech in his mind, “PLEASE DESCRIBE EACH BITE IN DETAIL.” 

“Renjun, you sound like a rabid animal.”

 

Week Four:

Renjun held his crystal in his hand, tears running down his face as the final episode of New Girl came to an end. He had binge watching it for weeks whenever he was home and could get someone to turn it on for him. He blames Lucas for this obsession. They had been talking about favorite tv shows and when Lucas had forced Renjun to watch a few episodes, he was immediately hooked. The last season had just recently been made available to watch on Netflix, so Renjun was racing to finish it before Lucas, knowing he would spoil it for him. 

After the credits began rolling, Renjun just sat there in awe. What was he supposed to do now? This show had become his obsession and all he had been looking forward to doing other than his hospital rounds. He had to talk to Lucas about the finale immediately- 

His thoughts were interrupted by something shiny in his peripheral vision. Turning his head toward the kitchen, there sat a beautiful blue door, glowing from all sides. In shock, he walked towards it. In that moment he realized there wasn’t much else for him here. In this house. On this Earth. His two loves were back in balance, taking good care of themselves and each other. Sicheng had iolite filled with good dreams and vibes for the patients. Lucas was probably finishing New Girl at this very moment. Renjun wrapped his hand around the door’s handle, slowly pulling it open. 

Barely an inch open, the door slammed shut. Renjun began tugging on the handle, confusion and panic overtaking him. It felt like he was tugging for ages before he noticed the crystal around his neck vibrating out of control. That’s when he knew something was wrong. He took his hand off the door knob and instead wrapped it around his crystal. Suddenly he was moved out of his home, leaving his door behind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We love Lucas sorry.   
> ANYWAYS. Please please please leave comments. Critique my work. Give me ideas. Give support. Anything. It really keeps me writing.

**Author's Note:**

> so this was the prologue. it actually takes place 2 years before the story actually begins. i tried to make it super fluffy to give you guys something good before throwing angst at you. but yeah i really do hope you guys enjoy!! this is my first ever nct fic so plz give me feedback!


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